Please, teach me gently how to breathe
by tainy4
Summary: "She wanted to follow. Nothing was real. Didn't he understand? She could not imagine a universe, no matter how many dimensions there were, without a Damon in it. There was no world for her, if there was no Damon." -Midnight.  Rated M just in case
1. Prologue

I didn't know what love is, until I met _her_. Sure, I slept with many women. And I've been in a relationship with one. But it wasn't real. _My love for her wasn't real_. It seemed real while we were together. I've been convinced that it was real for 145 years. And then I met Elena. At the time I was still sure that I'm in love with Katherine, but I started to feel something different. Something I didn't know. Something I couldn't name. So I denied it for few months. I denied it when everyone said "You **love** her"; I denied it when even _she_ was sure that I love her. And then Katherine came back.  
>"I've never loved you," She said. "It was always Stefan."<br>Drinking was my instant solution. But then I found myself in the morning after hungover, without any memory from last night except few glimpses of me killing Jeremy and me forcing Elena to kiss me. But worse than my memory loss or my hangover, the most irritating thing I left with from that night, was the fact that I failed Elena. She hated me, and I hated myself. I could drink because of it, drink everything away, but I also could become a better man. A man that Elena could forgive. So I tried to change. I didn't kill for a while, didn't feed on humans. Only blood bags from the hospital. And as I changed, the unknown feeling, that was more powerful than everything I have ever felt in the 171 years of my existence, was growing inside me. And as it grew, I could name it. I could admit it. I embraced it, although I had nothing to do about it.  
>"I love you, Elena." I said. I said it for myself more than I said it for her. I knew that it would be painful for her if I admit it. She knew that I love her, but it wasn't real for her until I said it. And then it was unreal for her, again. She forgot, and everything was the same as it was before I said those words. For her. But I changed. I finally knew that I love her. I knew what love feels like.<br>With Katherine, I could do anything to be with her. I wanted her to be mine and mine _only_. With Elena, I can do anything to keep her save. I can do anything to make her happy.  
>I can look from the side, watching her kissing, hugging, whispering to Stefan.<br>I watch her constantly saying "I love Stefan", but I don't care.  
>Of course, I want her to love me. I want to kiss her, to hug her, to let her know that I love her, although she already knows.<br>But I do anything but promising her to keep her save, to save Stefan and be there for her, no matter what.  
>Because I know it's the only way I can make her happy.<br>And that's how I know what love is.  
>I used to think that love means wanting the person you love to be with you.<br>Now I know that it means to want the person you love to be safe. To be happy.  
>And at this moment, I was lucky enough to be the person to make her happy.<br>I was lucky enough to be her shoulder to lean on, her rock, the most stable thing in her falling-apart world.

I love Stefan.  
>I've loved Stefan since the day at school, when I only saw his back.<br>And then I found more about him. It took me few days to adapt to what he is, but I loved him anyway. The fact that he's a vampire doesn't bother me. The fact that he and his brother were in love with the same girl 145 years ago doesn't bother me. So as the fact that that girl is a dead ringer to me.  
>I love him anyway, because our love is stronger than everything that he is or was.<br>And then he was gone.  
>For two months he killed people without caring. For two months I was almost sure that he doesn't care about me. But for one thing I was 100% positive; He could be saved.<br>He could come home. He could care again.  
>And then I met him again.<br>"I don't want to come home," he said and left.  
>He left me broken-hearted, standing in the middle of a street in Chicago.<br>And I got back to the car, where Damon was. Damon, who was nothing but supporting since Stefan left. Damon, who recently started believing that Stefan can be saved. The same Damon that loves me; The same Damon that only yesterday fed on human, betrayed me and let me think for about six months that he is a good person.  
>And then he left.<br>And when Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Matt and I were in danger, he was gone.  
>When Stefan came back, he was gone.<br>When Stefan bit me, he was gone.  
>When Stefan was about to kill me, he was gone.<br>When Stefan turned off his feeling, he was gone.  
>But then he came back.<br>When I opened my eyes at the hospital, he was there.  
>"Damon?" I whispered. I was too weak to say more. I was too weak to be mad. I was too broken to not be relieved when he was there for me.<br>I closed my eyes, and let him take the blankets off me, disconnect the pipes from my veins, and carry me in silence to somewhere safe.  
>It didn't matter to me where he took me to, because I know he was going to be the safest place for me right now. I could count on him.<br>It's Damon.

"It's bourbon. It will help you, here." I said to her, softly, and handed her the glass. She took a sip and looked disgusted. "Yeah, it's… strong."  
>There was a silence, because she didn't have anything to say or maybe because she had too much to say. Either way, she only pulled her hair to behind her ear.<br>"You know, I can help you forget too." I said. She looked at me. "If there some memories you don't want to keep."  
>"No," she said instantly. "No compulsion."<br>I tried to think of other ways to lessen her suffer. I hated the sad look in her eyes. She looked sad, confused, and most of all lost. Stefan wasn't on her side and I left her when she needed me the most.  
>"I need to remember. All of it." She said.<br>Another silence. I took from my pocket the only thing I could give her at the moment: her necklace.  
>"I stole it back for you." I said.<br>She stared at it for few seconds, and then looked at me.  
>"He's really gone this time." She said, with sad, lost, insecure look in her eyes. "After everything that we've been through, to help him, and now he's just... gone."<br>I hoped that the necklace will remind her the Stefan who gave her the necklace, the Stefan who loved her and fought compulsion just to keep her alive. But instead, she stared at it with empty eyes, which were actually full of sadness and fear. It reminded her the Stefan who spent the summer with Klaus, killed people, and few hours earlier nearly killed_ her_. As soon as I realised that the necklace made her even sadder, I put it on the table between us.  
>Then she did a thing that made my suffer much bigger and stronger.<br>She cried. She broke in front of me.  
>And while she did that, she asked the question that made me want to die. The answer was a thing I was sure I will be sorry about for the rest of my existence.<br>"Where were you, Damon?"  
>The sadness in her eyes, the fear in her facial expression, the lost tone of her voice; I wanted to hug her, to touch her, to let her know that <em>I'm here now<em>.  
>But I knew that every love gesture that I'll make will only remind her of Stefan, and I didn't know which Stefan it'll remind her.<br>"I should'nt have left." I said. It was the only thing I could say at the moment without reminding her of Stefan.  
>She dropped her look and nodded, crying. I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't care if that will remind her of Stefan; I needed her to know that I'm here. I put my hand on her leg, just to let her know that <em>she's not alone<em>.  
>She looked at me, less insecure than before.<br>"I promise you..." I started saying. "**I will never leave you again**."  
>I highlighted every word so it will engrave in her memory.<br>And then she smiled. Small, yet genuine smile. I was relieved, and smiled back.  
>"Well, isn't that cozy?" I heard a familiar voice. Stefan's.<br>If it was before the summer, I'd let him come closer to Elena. I'd let him touch her, kiss her; If he wanted to. But tonight he tried to kill her. So I stood up, between them, to protect her.  
>"What are you doing here, brother?" I asked in a calm voice. I didn't want our conversation to become violent; I didn't want to hurt him when Elena's looking.<br>"Last I checked, I live here." He said in an arrogant, cocky tone, that I know well.  
>"Klaus is gone, but he's asked me to keep watch on you until he returns," He said to Elena. Then he grabbed a glass of bourbon and continued. "From now on, you're under <em>my<em> protection."  
>He smiled and raised his glass. He was about to leave the room, but I stayed tensed.<br>"By all means, carry on."  
>He left.<br>I looked at Elena, and she looked at me. She seemed as much worried and confused as I was.  
>She fell asleep after few minutes, and I took her to my room.<br>I kept watching her for the whole night, just in case Stefan will decide to come across the room and do something reckless, which he didn't.  
>I enjoyed it a little. Elena was safe, and she was so peaceful as she slept.<br>Moments like this happened before, and I was sure that will happen in the future, but I couldn't get used to it.  
>Every night I spent with her was different a little, but the feeling I got when I was around her was the same.<br>I was calm, yet excited.  
>I was happy, yet feared.<br>Feared that something or someone will take her away. Feared that someday, I won't be able to keep her safe like this.  
>Feared that someday I will stop loving her.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

I woke up, but didn't open my eyes. I didn't know what time it was or where I was. Then I started remembering things from last night. Stefan came back. Klaus compelled him to turn off his feelings. They tried to kill me, and then they stopped. They stopped because Klaus understood that he needs me for making new hybrids. Klaus turned Tyler into a hybrid. Matt died and came back to life so he could see ghosts. And while all of that happened, Damon wasn't with me.  
>But he came back.<br>He came back, and we talked, and then Stefan showed up.  
>I opened my eyes. I was in Damon's room. I searched for Damon with my look, and then I saw him. Sitting on the edge of the bed, with his back towards me.<br>"You woke up late." He said suddenly.  
>"Well, I fell asleep late. What time is it?" I said.<br>Damon looked at his phone.  
>"6:45." He said.<br>"How come that's late?"  
>"That's late because today you have-"<br>"School." I completed his sentence. "Crap."  
>"Yeah. I wish you could stay here today to see who your boyfriend is drinking."<br>"What?" I was still half-asleep and I didn't remember all of the details from yesterday.  
>"He's a heartless ripper now. Did you forget?"<br>"No, I just - Never mind. Can you give me a ride home so I can get ready for school?"  
>"No need to. Everything you need is right here," He said and pointed at two bags, one of them it my satchel, on the floor near the shower. "Jeremy delivered you anything you need."<br>"Oh." I said. "Well, I better take a shower."  
>"Yeah, you look like hell." He said and looked at me.<br>"Touching." I said in sarcasm.  
>"That's called honesty."<br>I went to the shower, but first I looked at the mirror. I was wearing the clothes from last night and they were messy and dirty. Then I looked at my face. I had dark bags under my eyes and few bumps around my chin. But the most terrifying part about the way I looked was my neck. A big, messy bite-mark was on it. There were actually two bite-marks that looked like one. The first one was from Klaus' sister's, Rebekah, bite. She bit me when she thought I had the necklace Stefan gave me on me. The second bite-mark was from Stefan's bite, which was much more painful; more emotionally than physically. Until he bit me I was sure that he will never hurt me. I was sure that he will do anything to keep me safe; anything, to make sure no one tries to kill me or bite me.  
>I was wrong.<br>I took off my clothes and took a quick shower. Then I changed my clothes and brushed my teeth and my hair; everything I needed was in one of the bags that Jeremy brought me.  
>When I got out of the shower Damon wasn't in his room. Quietly and carefully, I took my satchel and went to the hall.<br>"Damon?" I said quietly so only he can hear, if he's close.  
>"I'm… Here…" he said quietly from the library. He sounded choked, like every letter that he said made him suffer.<br>I ran to the library without thinking. If he was in danger, no matter how big it was, no matter if by saving him I'd be in danger, I would help him.  
>When I got to the library, I saw Stefan choking Damon and pressing him to one of the bookshelves.<br>"Stop!" I yelled at Stefan. He didn't do anything but pressing on Damon's neck even stronger. "Stefan, **stop**!"  
>He dropped his hand and looked at me.<br>"What is the matter with you!" I yelled.  
>"Your new friend-with-benefits was trying to make me to not kill her." He said and pointed at a girl that was standing, confused, by the fireplace.<br>"He has any right to do that, and he's not my friend-with-benefits."  
>"Really? I haven't been here for two months, and you two didn't do anything?" Stefan said in a disappointed tone.<br>"Yes, Stefan. We didn't do anything, because I spent those two months waiting for you, trying to find you and bring you back. I didn't forget you for even one second. You were still my boyfriend."  
>There was a silence for few seconds.<br>"Aren't you late for school, Elena?" Damon said suddenly.  
>"I'm pretty sure that I am." I said and looked at him in a 'thank you for distracting me from the heartless-Stefan situation' look.<br>"Wait, there's school today?" Stefan asked, reminding me that this situation still exists.  
>"Yes, but you're not going." Damon answered instead of me.<br>"Why not? You know, Klaus made me protect you, and I can't see a better way of doing this but being around you _all the time_."  
>"Stefan, you're not coming back to school. I'll be fine there without you." I said.<br>"But what if some crazy, mad, original vampire will come to school and try to kill you? Will you be fine then?"  
>"She will be fine." Damon said in less than a second. "Elena, would you like a ride to school?"<br>"Sure." I said and turned to the door.  
>"You know, I'm going to school, so I can drive you." Stefan said from behind me.<br>"For the last time, you're **not** going to school." Damon said. There was a silence.  
>I turned back.<br>Stefan took a wooden stake that was on the table and was about to stab Damon.  
>Without even think, I ran to Stefan and stood between him and Damon, right before he stabbed him.<br>"Don't touch him." I said. "If you touch him, I'll kill myself. And if I'll be dead, you'll fail Klaus. And if you fail Klaus... You're dead." We stared at each other for few seconds, then Damon grabbed my hand. I let him take me outside of the room, and then we walked in silence to his car. We started to drive.  
>"Thank you." I said after few seconds, when we were away from the boarding house's driveway.<br>"For what?" he asked.  
>"For everything. For last night, for trying to change Stefan, for trying to keep him away from me… Thank you."<br>"No welcome." He said, and didn't say a word until we got to the school's parking lot and parked.  
>"Elena," he said when I was about to leave the car. "I will do anything to keep you safe. You know that. And if by keeping Stefan away from you I am keeping you safe, I will keep him away from you. Even if it hurts you right now."<br>There was a long silence when we stared at each other's eyes.  
>"I… I don't want him near me. Not like this. The Stefan we were looking for the whole summer, the Stefan who left me in Chicago to protect me; it isn't the Stefan who came back. The Stefan who came back doesn't love me. The Stefan who came back tried to kill you few minutes ago. He's bad news for both of us."<br>We stared at each other in silence for few seconds, and then I heard a knock on my window.  
>I turned my look. It was Caroline, and Bonnie stood next to her. I turned my look back to Damon.<br>"You'll be safe with them at school," he said. I nodded and left.

As I watched her walking away I felt more and more insecure. I mean, Bonnie is probably the strongest witch that I know and Caroline kicked my ass few days earlier, and both of them will do anything to keep Elena safe. But I felt like it was safer for Elena to be next to me. I'd die before I let anything happen to her.  
>It wasn't good for me to think about this, and I got hungry anyway, so I drove back to my house.<br>As I came across the library on my way to the basement where I keep the blood bags, I saw Stefan, sucking the blood out of the poor girl that was lying on the floor ,dying.  
>"You know I have enough blood bags for both of us." I said.<br>"I know. But it's much more fun and tasty this way." He continued sucking the girl's blood, and I decided to give up this time.  
>"Anyway, clean when you're done. I don't like sullies on the carpet."<br>I left before he had any chance to comment. I took two blood bags from the blood-fridge, poured the blood to glasses, mixed it with rum and drank it.  
>When I got back to the library Stefan and the carpet were clean, and the girl was gone.<br>"I'm taking off." He told me while he put his glass of some beverage on the table.  
>"Where are you going?" I asked him.<br>"School." He answered and was about to leave.  
>"Haven't we discussed it earlier? You aren't going to school anymore, period."<br>"If I'm not going to school, what is this bag I'm carrying? What is this schedule I'm holding? Who are those delicious school girls waiting for?"  
>He left, and I had nothing to do about this.<br>At the moment he was stronger than me. He just drained a girl out of blood while I drank only two blood bags. If he'd kill me, Elena will try to kill herself. But Stefan won't let her just die like this. He'll bring her to Klaus. And with Klaus, her life will end in much brutal and painful way.  
>Only ten minutes after he left, my phone started ringing. First, Bonnie sent me a "Stefan's school" massage, then Alaric sent me a "Guess who just attacked me?" massage, and then Liz called me to say that Caroline texted her that Stefan's back and we need to have a private council meeting immediately, and by "private" I guessed she meant to her, Carol and I.<br>After about twenty minutes I was at Carol's house.  
>"Do you know more than we do, Damon?" Liz said as we sat.<br>"Of course he does," Carol said and looked at me.  
>"Of course I do." I said.<br>"Well…?" Liz said after few seconds.  
>"He's back, but he isn't the good old Stefan you used to know. He kills people." I said.<br>"Then we should stop him," Carol said.  
>"No. We can't do anything. Especially not you guys."<br>"How can you expect us to sit here and do nothing, while our citizens are getting killed? I am the mayor of this town and Liz is the sheriff, we can't let this happen." Carol said.  
>"Carol, he kills people for nothing. What do you think he might do to someone who rises against him?" there was a silence so I continued. "He has a mission from Klaus, and this is the only thing that matters to him. With Klaus protecting him and without emotions, he's unstoppable. He can do anything, and that includes killing you and your children. So for now, we'll let him do whatever he wants."<br>"But how do we know he won't do anything to our children?" Liz said after few seconds.  
>"His mission from Klaus is to keep Elena safe, and Caroline is keeping her safe, so he won't do anything to her. And Tyler is Klaus' first hybrid so he matters to him."<br>"Hybrid?" Carol said. I realized he hasn't told her yet.  
>"Yeah, well… I'll let your son tell you about this. I don't want to get into your family dynamics."<br>Then my phone started ringing. It was a text from Elena.  
>"<em>I need you.<em>"  
>Without thinking I stood up.<br>"I must leave. Don't do anything stupid until I say differently." I said and left without any other explanation.  
>On the way to school I called Elena. It took her less than a second to answer.<br>"Damon?"  
>"Where should I meet you?"<br>"I'm at Alaric's class."  
>"I'm on my way." I said and was about to say goodbye, as she started talking again.<br>"Damon… Hurry."  
>"Bye." I said and put my phone back in my pocket. I parked my car in an illegal parking, and ran through the woods to the school.<br>"What's going on?" I said as I got into the class. Elena, Alaric, Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, Tyler and Matt were there.  
>"What do we do about him?" Alaric asked.<br>"_We_ don't do anything. 'I see dead people', teen wolf – I'm sorry, teen hybrid, 'I see dead people: the sequel' - leave." There were too many unnecessary people in this room. After they all left I continued. "Okay, now, where's Stefan?"  
>"He's at English class." Alaric said.<br>"For how long he'll be there?" I asked.  
>"At least more thirty minutes." Elena said.<br>"Great." I said.  
>"Why only we here?" Bonnie asked before I could continue.<br>"Because only you are needed for my plan."  
>"Do you have a plan?" Caroline asked.<br>"I always have a plan."


	3. Chapter 2

**_This chapter is worse than the first one or the prologue so I want to apologize from ahead, and thank all of you for reading the 1st chapter and the prologue. I'll try to make the next chapter better :)_**

* * *

><p>As I came to the football court I saw Bonnie, Caroline and some other girls, stretching.<p>

"Hey," I said, nervous.  
>"Hi," Both Caroline and Bonnie said, and looked at me in a "Ready?" look. I nodded.<br>"Okay, girls," Caroline said suddenly, "Show me what we worked on last year. Elena, do you feel like watching us today? You didn't practice with us at all last year."  
>"Yeah, that's a good idea." I said, trying to sound disappointed, and went to the benches.<br>I sat on the highest bench -the one that if you fall from your chance to survive is about 0.99%- and waited. Caroline and Bonnie kept eyeing me, and Caroline's look said "I can't keep the girls here for much longer, hurry".  
>After about thirty minutes I decided to do something. I looked around, making sure that nobody's watching.<br>"Stefan?" I whispered. There was no sound. "Stefan, I know you're watching me."  
>There was silence for few seconds, and then I saw a shadow below the seats. I looked to my left, then to my right, and he was there, sitting.<br>"What?" He said.  
>"I want to talk."<br>"Will it be boring?" He asked.  
>"Don't be an ass." I said. After few seconds I continued. "Are you really gone?"<br>"I'm sitting right here."  
>"You know what I mean."<br>"Elena," He said after few seconds. "The only thing that's keeping me from killing you right now is the promise I made to Klaus. I don't care about you."  
>On this point I could continue with the plan. I was sure that I'll continue with the plan on this point, but somehow, I didn't want to. I watched Stefan flipping the switch, I watched as Klaus told him to bite me, I watched him as he didn't debate. But I still had some hope. I had to have some hope, because if I wouldn't have hope, he was dead by now. So I digressed from the plan.<br>"Is there anything you feel, that is not love?" I asked quietly.  
>"No." He said without thinking.<br>"No hate, or jealousy, or-" He interrupted me.  
>"Elena, I don't have feelings. I know you're trying to find a piece of humanity that left in me, but it's a dead end. Move on; do what you want, and stop wasting my time." He said and stood. My time was running out so I had to stick to the plan.<br>I leaned back, closed my eyes, and let myself fall.  
>When I opened my eyes Stefan held me. I was on the ground. We stared at each other's eyes for few seconds, before I could say anything.<br>"I'm sorry, Stefan." I said when I was ready, and right when I finished my sentence Stefan fell to the ground. He held my hand tight, like he wanted me to help him. Instead of pulling him and helping him, I shook my wrist, and too weak to hold my hand, Stefan let go. I looked at Alaric, who stood behind him, holding his gun with the vervain covered wooden bullets in his right hand.  
>"Can you grab him to the car?" I asked.<br>"I think I might need some help." He said. I nodded and ran to the court, which now, except for Caroline and Bonnie who stood in the middle of it, was empty.  
>"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked. I nodded.<br>"But Alaric needs some help in getting Stefan into the car." I said to Caroline, and she nodded and left.  
>"Will you be okay at the Salvatore's house around Stefan? I can give you a ride to your house instead." Bonnie suggested.<br>That suggestion caught me off guard. Not because bonnie could give me a ride home, I knew she was going there anyway to meet Jeremy. It caught me off guard because I got a chance to not be around Stefan. From one side I wanted to help Damon deal with Stefan, but I wasn't quite ready to be around Stefan like this. I mean, when I had to be around him I could do this and try to ignore him, but when I got the option to not being around him, I guess I preferred to stay away from him.  
>"You know, I'm tired and I haven't seen Jeremy since Damon told him to leave Ric's class. I could use a ride home."<br>We left the court and went to the parking lot, where Caroline and Alaric were loading Stefan to the car.  
>"We're going home. Are you sure you don't need help with Stefan?" I asked them.<br>"We'll be fine. I just injected him more vervain and Caroline's here just in case." Alaric answered.  
>"And Damon?" I asked.<br>"He's an ass, but it's his plan. He won't screw this up." Caroline said. I nodded, and left with Bonnie.

"That took you a while." I said as I opened the door. Alaric and Caroline were there and carried Stefan. "Where's Elena?"  
>"She's at her home." Alaric said, and I worried a bit. "With Bonnie."<br>I calmed down. I took Stefan and carried him to the dungeon and Alaric and Caroline followed me. They helped me locking him in, and we went upstairs.  
>"Barbie, go home. Your mom's worried." I told Caroline while I poured me and Alaric two glasses of bourbon.<br>"How do you know…?" She started asking. I looked at her in a 'I'm too tired for this, just leave' look. "Fine."  
>She left, and I handed Alaric his glass. He didn't take it.<br>"You know, just because we're working together doesn't mean we are friends again." He said.  
>"I'd like to think that we've never been friends."<br>"What were we, than?"  
>"We were two very lonely men. The women we loved left us, and we bonded over that."<br>"Isn't that's friends meaning?"  
>I smiled.<br>"Perhaps. But do friends kill friends?" I asked.  
>"If you're trying to become my friend again, that's not the right way."<br>"I know that's not the right way. But I'm checking my possibilities, since I know you're not going to become my friend again soon."  
>"Wise conclusion. How did you get to it?"<br>"Well, if my friend would've killed me, I guess I would've done the same."  
>There was a long silence, and then Alaric took his glass.<br>I was too tired to try and tease him, and I needed a friend, so I decided to do a thing that I was sure he'll mock me forever for.  
>"Look, I usually don't do apologizes, so consider this one rare. When I killed you, I had a bad day. I couldn't compel someone who wasn't on vervain, everyone tried to educate me, and above all, a girl kicked my ass. I know that's not an excuse, but I'm sorry."<br>Alaric laughed.  
>"I must be very special to get an apologize from Damon Salvatore himself."<br>I smiled.  
>"I'll forgive you, but only if you'll take a beat from Elena." He said.<br>"I'm not doing anything with Elena." I said, but somehow, even to me, it didn't sound real.  
>"Don't deny it. I know that you're attracted to her. And I can see that she's attracted to you. But it just… it isn't good for her."<br>"What isn't good for her?"  
>"Your closeness to her. She's still confused about her feelings for you, and now that Stefan's back here… it isn't good for both of you."<br>"Look, I appreciate your concern, but I think I know what's good for her."  
>"I don't ask you to stop protecting her, or be there for her when she needs you; I'm just asking you to stop trying to get close to her… romantically."<br>"That's all you ask for?" I asked after few seconds.  
>"That's all I ask for."<br>"But what if she turns to me… Romantically?"  
>"If she really wants that and if she asks you for romantic stuff - you can do whatever you want."<br>"Fine," I said.  
>"Fine." He agreed.<br>"Cheers," I said and raised my glass. He raised his glass too, and then we drank.

Bonnie poured me another glass of coffee. I had school on the next day and it was probably a bad decision to stay up until 12pm, but I couldn't sleep.  
>"Elena, there's something I need to tell you." Bonnie said suddenly while I took a sip from the hot coffee.<br>"Shoot." I said, although by the way she said "there's something I need to tell you" I wasn't sure I wanted to hear what she had to say.  
>"Do you know where Damon and Jeremy were last night? When we were at school?"<br>"No… Wait, they were together?"  
>"They were together… with Katherine." She said quietly.<br>"Wi- with Katherine!" I almost yelled, but then I remembered Jeremy was sleeping. "With Katherine?" I whispered.  
>"Yes, but-"<br>"How come you're so calm about the fact that he was with Katherine!"  
>"I'm not. I reacted like you when Jeremy told me that, but-"<br>"But what!" I almost yelled again.  
>"You need to hear the whole story. Did Jeremy tell you about the consequences from his death last year? When I brought him back to life?"<br>"Except for you not being able to contact dead witches anymore, he didn't."  
>"Well… he can contact Anna and Vicki."<br>It took me few seconds to respond to that.  
>"Anna and Vicki, his exes? His <strong>dead<strong> exes?" I asked and she nodded.  
>"And I accidently told Katherine that when I thought it was you. So she kidnapped Jeremy and convinced Damon to leave town."<br>I was disappointed. I knew Damon was away, but I didn't think that he might be with Katherine. I didn't think that he might be helping her kidnapping Jeremy. I thought he was with Alaric, or that he tried to find me. In my worst nightmares Damon wouldn't abandon me for Katherine.  
>"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.<br>"Yeah, I'm… fine."  
>"So Jeremy woke up at a gas station or something in the middle of nowhere, and found out that Pearl, Katherine's friend from 1864, told Anna how to kill Klaus. So brutally, Damon and Katherine made Anna tell Jeremy how to kill Klaus."<br>On this point I wanted to see Damon, hurt him and yell at him. But then I remembered what happened when he came back, and just couldn't want to kill him anymore.  
>"Long story short – a vampire hunter who is also a vampire named Mikael who knows how to kill Klaus is now talking to Katherine."<br>It took me few minutes to respond.  
>"Is Jeremy alright?"<br>"You saw him. He's fine."  
>I smiled, and continued drinking my coffee. The whole time I didn't talk Bonnie looked at me weird.<br>"What?" I asked, and expected her to understand immediately what I meant to, as she did.  
>"Damon kidnapped your brother, and ran away with Katherine when you needed him, and all you can say is 'is Jeremy fine'? Don't you at least mad at him?"<br>"Of course I mad at him. Nobody, not even Damon, has the right to hurt Jeremy. But he wore his ring, and now we know how to kill Klaus. And the fact that he ran away – as soon as he heard that I'm in danger he came back. And while he's doing 'bad stuff to good people', as Caroline said, he's Damon. And he will do anything to protect me, and by protecting me he's protecting you, and Jeremy, and Caroline and all the people that I care about."  
>"But sometimes you can't notice the difference between protecting you and flirts with you. Elena, I care about you. Don't fall into his trap."<br>"I won't." She looked at me like I was lying. "Bonnie, I won't fall into Damon's trap. I promise."  
>"Well, I better get going." Bonnie said after few seconds. She took one last sip from her coffee, hugged me and left.<br>I couldn't fall asleep, so I just lied in my bed and thought.  
>What if Bonnie was right and I was falling into Damon's trap? What if I was falling in love with him? With a person that hurt my brother, ran away with his ex-girlfriend and just yesterday bit a human being? Who is the Salvatore brother that I am really in love with, and how come no matter which brother I love, it will always be the wrong one?<p> 


End file.
